Prince William ‘is angry over all-white Bafta nominations and is set to raise the issue in his awards speech’
- The award ceremony is being held tomorrow night at Royal Albert Hall, London
- Absence of black, Asian and ethnic minority nominations in top four categories
- Duke of Cambridge has already raised concerns with the Bafta chief executive
Prince William is angry over the all-white Bafta nominations and is set to raise his concerns during his awards speech.
The 73rd British Academy of Film and Television Arts award ceremony is being held tomorrow night at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
But this year there is an absence of black, Asian and ethnic minority nominations in the top four acting categories – Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.
Prince William is thought to be angry over the all-white Bafta nominations and is set to raise his concerns during his awards speech. Pictured: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Bafta ceremony in 2019
The Duke of Cambridge, who is the President of Bafta, is thought to have already raised his concerns about the lack of diversity with chief executive Amanda Berry OBE.
One source said: ‘He supports Bafta but is concerned and disappointed.
‘He recognises there is so much talent in the industry so for all the nominations to be white again isn’t good enough…
‘Execs are braced for his speech. Amanda is panicked. There are shockwaves,’ according to The Sun.
Cynthia Erivo is one black British actor who has been overlooked despite being nominated for an Oscar for her role in Harriet. And Steve McQueen, who is a two-time award winner, said Bafta risks irrelevance unless it does more to include diversity
Cynthia Erivo is one black British actor who has been overlooked despite being nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her leading role in Harriet.
She has refused an invitation to perform at the ceremony on Sunday.
Similarly, Steve McQueen, who is a two-time award winner including Best Director for 12 Years a Slave, recently said that Bafta risks irrelevance unless it does more to include diversity.
#BAFTAsSoWhite began trending on Twitter after the race row first erupted on Tuesday.
Ms Berry took to Radio 4 shortly afterward to speak about the nominations.
She said: ‘If I’m being totally honest, no, I’m very disappointed.’
Agreeing the list seemed ‘very white’, she added: ‘I’m going to totally agree with you because that’s how I felt when I first saw the list and this isn’t being disrespectful to anyone who has been nominated because it’s an incredibly strong list this year.’
Critics have also slammed Bafta for the all-male nominations for the Best Director award.
Speaking on Radio 4 on Tuesday, BAFTAs CEO Amanda Berry OBE admitted she was ‘very disappointed’ at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards shortlist’s lack of diversity
Prince William and Kate will both be attending the awards for the fourth consecutive year.
A-list guests such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Margot Robbie are also expected at the event.
The nominations and winners are picked by Bafta’s 6,500 members.
Bafta has declined to comment.
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